Read below for the latest on University of Virginia men’s basketball’s 2012 class as well as class of 2014 commitment B.J. Stith.  Also, fans should be sure to check out Sabre poster HoosTrue’s latest recruiting update, which includes a spreadsheet of how each recruit has performed in 2011/2012.

- Montrose Christian Academy (Rockville, MD) defeated Don Bosco Prep 100-48 last Thursday, improving its record to 20-2.  In the win, UVa-bound guard/forward Justin Anderson produced his second-highest point total of the season, finishing with 32 points including 12 points from beyond the arc.  The 6’7″ senior averaged 17.8 points per game this season, eclipsing the 1,000-point mark in his high school career in last Thursday’s contest.

For highlights of Anderson’s most recent performance (and more), follow this link.

Montrose Christian is currently ranked no. 12 nationally in the ESPN Powerade Fab 50.

- Evan Nolte and the Milton Eagles (Alpharetta, GA), currently no. 7 in the Fab 50, will meet Georgia Tech signee Robert Carter and the Shiloh Generals at 7:00 p.m. tonight in the second round of the Class AAAAA playoffs.  Fans can watch the Milton/Shiloh match-up live on the internet here.

The 6’8″ Nolte had 17 points in a 68-62 win over Walton in the first round.

- Blair Academy (Blairstown, N.J.) finished the 2011/2012 season with an 18-7 overall record that included an MAPL Championship.  Blair fell by 24 in the Prep A State Final against St. Benedict’s, which is the no. 11 in the Fab 50 national rankings.  6’11″ center Mike Tobey had 33 points — 22 in the second half — in a losing effort.  He had 19 points in a regular season match-up against St. Benedict’s.

- Brunswick (Lawrenceville, VA), 26-2 on the season, takes on Handley in the Division III Group AA state quarterfinals on March 3.  Combo guard B.J. Stith earned first-team all-district honors for his sophomore season performance.  His brother, 6’6″, 200-pound forward Brandan Stith, was the Southside District Player of the Year, averaging 20 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks per game.  Virginia has offered Brandan, but the Cavaliers want him to prep for one year and enroll in the class of 2014.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch has a piece up on former UVa star Bryant Stith and his Bulldogs squad.

Recruit757.com has a report up on Oscar Smith (Chesapeake, VA) junior wide receiver Zack Jones, younger brother of UVa rising senior running back Perry Jones.  Zack was in Charlottesville this past Saturday for Virginia’s junior day event.

“It was a blast. I really enjoyed myself,” he told Recruit757.com.  Read the full report here. ”The coaches welcomed me to the school and I really connected with them. We laughed and joked around about different things. I spent time with Perry at the basketball game at the end of the day. That was the only time I saw him, but it was cool getting to see him again.”

Virginia is currently the only offer for the 5’11″, 200-pound junior, who enjoyed a breakout season in 2011.  He totaled 228 yards of offense in the state semifinal win over Battlefield, and a week later he had over 100 yards receiving and a score as the Tigers captured the Division 6 AAA state championship.  Besides the offer from Virginia, Jones is drawing serious interest from a number of other schools.

In the two games North Carolina played against Virginia this year the Tar Heels tried a new strategy. Rather than play its typical up and down game by matching their All-American talent against the Cavaliers, the Heels resorted to focusing most of their attention on getting ACC Player of the Year candidate Mike Scott into foul trouble.

Are the Heels really that scared of Mike Scott? Do they believe they couldn’t win otherwise? If one of the nation’s elite teams believes it has to remove an opposing player from the game to win, and do it by using tricks and shady tactics – ‘acting’ in order to gain favor from officials, as well as tapping Scott’s elbow on his follow through – are they not conceding the ACC’s best player is on Virginia’s team and not their own?

I don’t remember UNC trying this tactic to win other games on its schedule. Maybe it’s good coaching, but it doesn’t prove there’s much confidence on the Tar Heel coaching staff that its own players can win when Scott is on the floor. That should say something to voters with regard to who should get the top spot for ACC Player of the Year.

UNC won by just 3 points over a team whose best player had to sit out much of the game with cheap fouls, at least two of them undeserving. Carolina’s Jon Henson might win an award for his acting skills (although they were B-movie quality at best), and the Tar Heels certainly get a nod for their creative game plan (if you want to call ‘fear’ and ‘trickery’ a game plan), but the ACC’s best player is Mike Scott.

The University of Virginia has extended an offer to North Stafford (Stafford, VA) safety Anthony Shegog, North Stafford head coach Joe Mangano reported via e-mail.

The 6’2″, 200-pound Shegog, a first-team all-Commonwealth District performer at safety and second-team all-district selection at wide receiver last season, received an offer from Virginia Tech this past Saturday while at the Hokies junior day.  He lists a top three of East Carolina, Virginia and Virginia Tech, saying this past Sunday that the Hokies had the edge.

Shegog plans to attend UVa’s next junior day, which is on February 25.

North Stafford (Stafford, VA) went 10-3 and reached the AAA Division 5 state semifinals this past season.  Eighteen starters return next season, and a pair of rising seniors — wide receiver Brandon Ravenel and safety Anthony Shegog — highlight those players with the potential to reach the major FBS level.

Ravenel, a 5’11″, 165-pound wide receiver, will be a 4-year starter for head coach Joe Mangano.  He had over 1,000 yards receiving and scored 16 touchdowns last season as a junior, leading the way for an offense that averaged over 32 points per game.

“He’s a dynamic player.  He’s explosive,” Mangano said of Ravenel.  “He was a captain as a junior.  He has a 3.7 GPA.  He’s a great character kid.”

On the high school level, Ravenel is known more for what he does on the offensive side of the ball.  On the college level, he could end up playing corner.

“Brandon’s offensive skill-set is really good,” Mangano said.  “Especially on a team that runs the spread, or three or four wide receivers, I could see him as a wideout or in the slot.  If it’s for a pro-set that wants those 6’3″ receivers, he might not fit the bill there.  He’s a slasher.  He has really good speed.  He’s a finisher.  He can play on both sides of the ball.  For us, he’s so valuable on offense that we limited his defensive reps some.  The word [Virginia Tech defensive coordinator Bud] Foster kept saying was dynamic.  Brandon can return punts and kicks, and he can play receiver or corner.”

While Ravenel was a sparkplug for the offense, Shegog anchored the Wolverines defense.  The 6’2″, 200-pound junior earned first-team all-district honors for his play at safety, also receiving second-team all-district honors at wide receiver.

“Anthony’s 6’2″, 200 pounds, and he runs really well,” Mangano said.  “He had 13 touchdowns on offense.  He’s versatile.  He can play running back, wide receiver, and we’re possibly going to play him at quarterback this year.  On defense, he is everywhere.  When we game-plan, wherever the other team goes most, that’s where we put Anthony.  If a team always runs to the tight end, we’ll put Anthony there.  If they run to the wide side, we’ll put him there.  If they have a big receiver, we’ll put Anthony on him.  College coaches talk a lot about Anthony’s versatility.  The ECU coach noted that Anthony has to have a high football IQ to play that many positions.”

Shegog could potentially grow into a linebacker role, but for now safety is the position most college coaches are recruiting him to play.

“Coach Foster said that Anthony was one of the top safeties on their board after they watched his film,” Mangano said.

“Anthony is a kid I really think could excel on the next level.  He is long and rangy.  He could easily be 210 or 220 pounds.  He really has tremendous upside.”

Neither North Stafford prospect has an offer yet, but Coach Mangano feels something could happen in the next few weekends.  Both players will head to Virginia Tech on February 18 and Virginia on February 25.

“Coach Foster came down a few weeks ago, right before the Dead Period,” Mangano said.  “He eyeballed ‘em.  The following Monday, he called back and said they were really close to offering.  He wanted to bring them down so they could check them out.  Coach Gray, the defensive backs coach, is high on them.  They are going to the junior day this weekend.

“Virginia has been in constant contact.  Both guys attended the Georgia Tech game last fall.  They are doing Virginia’s junior day on the 25th.  They were at ECU two weeks ago, too.”

Mangano reports that both players are open right now.  Shegog, however, is very familiar with the University of North Carolina, where his older sister, Chay, is a senior center for the Tar Heels’ women’s basketball team.

A week or so ago, I came across this blog post courtesy of a Google alert. It recognizes Virginia senior Mike Scott for for having one of “the best hairdos in college basketball.” The blog credits Scott for his cornrow creativity, noting that the forward has had at least 5 different cornrow patterns this season.

I asked Scott about that very thing after last week’s Wake Forest game. So how many different cornrow combinations have there been?

“Seven.”

No hesitation in that response. Click on these links to see some of the cornrow looks: Winthrop, Michigan, Miami, Clemson, Wake Forest. There’s also this small dreads look from the Green Bay game.

So is it the same stylist every time or are their multiple artists?

“I have my sources,” Scott said laughing.

Maryland has become the latest school to offer Stone Bridge (Ashburn, VA) junior quarterback Ryan Burns.  The 6’5″, 220-pound signal caller had previously collected offers from Boston College, Penn State, Rutgers, Stanford, Virginia and West Virginia.

Bryan Burns, who reported the Maryland offer via text message, says his son will visit Penn State, Stanford and Virginia in the coming weeks.  Ryan plans to be in Charlottesville for the Cavaliers’ February 25 junior day event, which coincides with the men’s basketball team’s home game versus North Carolina.

Along with Stone Bridge teammates, Ryan Burns participated in UVa’s 7-on-7 tournament last June.  He returned to Charlottesville to see Virginia’s 2011 home finale against Virginia Tech, but this will be his first visit since.

Here is the latest on the University of Virginia men’s basketball program’s 2012 class…

Justin Anderson

The 6’7″, 230-pound Anderson is leading Montrose Christian (Rockville, MD) in scoring with an average of just over 17 points per game (stats per the Washington Post).  He is leading the team in 3-point field goals with 33, and he is shooting 72-percent from the free-throw line.  Montrose is 16-2 and will next face Washington Latin on February 18.

The Washington Post posted a video interview with Anderson on February 12.  Check it out here.  In addition to Anderson commenting on several topics, including the University of Virginia, the video also includes highlights of the dynamic athlete and comments from Montrose Christian head coach Stu Vetter.

“He is a great athlete, but he’s a great basketball player.  And he’s developed that,” Vetter says in the video.  “He’s been here for four years.  He’s gotten better every year.  He now shoots the ball well.  Has a good feel for the game.  He’s really playing well defensively.  And he fits in with all the other all-time greats that we’ve had.  He’s that good a player.”

Evan Nolte

Milton (Alpharetta, GA) head coach David Boyd updated the latest on 6’8″, 200-pound forward Evan Nolte.

“Evan has had a tremendous season for us this year, leading us to a 12-0 mark in the region, two national tournament titles, a #3 ranking in MaxPreps, and #7 in ESPN,” Boyd wrote via e-mail.  “He is a winner having played in 104 victories thus far in his Milton career.  He was also named MVP of the Beach Ball Classic and Top 5 by ESPN in Holiday tournament play.  He has maintained a 3.7 GPA.”

On the season, Nolte is averaging 17 points, seven rebounds, 2.5 steals and two blocks per game.  Nolte earned Region 6-5A Player of the Year honors for his performance.  The Eagles are 20-4 heading into the regional playoffs.

Mike Tobey

The 6’11″ center is producing in what is his first and last season at Blair Academy (Blairstown, N.J.).  According to Bucs head coach Joe Mantegna, Tobey is averaging 22 points and eight rebounds per game.  Mantegna adds that Tobey will be first-team all-MAPL and first-team New Jersey Prep State when those distinctions are announced in the coming weeks.

Blair (16-6) has captured the 2011/2012 MAPL regular season and tournament titles.  Tobey had 22 points, 15 rebounds and six blocks in leading the Bucs to a 73-59 win over The Hun School in yesterday’s MAPL tournament championship.  Read the game story here.

Blair hosts The Hun School in the first round of the state Prep A tournament on February 18.

On Friday, the Atlantic Coast Conference officially announced the future scheduling formats for the league as approved by the ACC’s Faculty Athletic Representatives and Athletics Directors. Read the official press release here. The new scheduling practices will kick in once Pittsburgh and Syracuse become playing members in the conference.

The highlights of the new scheduling format:

• The Atlantic and Coastal Divisions will remain the same with Syracuse joining the Atlantic and Pitt joining the Coastal. The current primary crossover partners will remain consistent with Syracuse and Pitt becoming primary crossover partners with each other.
• Football will move to a nine-game conference schedule.
• Men’s and women’s basketball will adopt an 18-game conference schedule.
• All 14 teams will participate in the ACC Tournament for men’s and women’s basketball with a tourney format to be announced at a later date.
• All other team sports will continue to play each conference team at least once during the regular season. Baseball is the only exception as those teams currently don’t play all conference opponents.

Remember when Mike Scott was a skinny high school kid that hardly anyone knew about? Check out these photos I took in May 2006. These are from my first look at Scott when he played for Boo Williams’ AAU squad at the Southern Invitational Tournament in Charlottesville. At the time Virginia had interest, but Scott had not yet shown enough to get an offer. Former Temple head coach John Chaney thought enough of him to offer a scholarship the year prior and Scott committed. But when Chaney retired, Mike Scott decided to open back up his recruitment. Scott went into the summer AAU circuit hoping to improve his stock.

Before Scott’s first game at the Southern Invitational that day, I was informed that he might be worth a few photos just in case UVa started to heat up their recruitment of him. But his jersey number didn’t match what was in the program, I didn’t know what he looked like, and I wasn’t even sure he was participating. Shortly into the game, out of the corner of my eye I caught a flash of a player driving the baseline. I adjusted my camera and took some shots of a high-flying kid soaring over his defender and emphatically slamming the ball through the hoop – Adam Hall-style! Seconds later someone mentioned, “That was Mike Scott.”

I continued to shoot more photos and watch him closely. He was the best player on the floor that game, more notable than highly recruited teammates Patrick Patterson and Ed Davis. In fact, Scott was having such a great game that Davis barely played. Scott was a quick leaper, excellent rebounder, and he had a variety of shots that gave the impression he was on the level of some of the other top targets.

If Virginia’s interest was limited at the time, that certainly changed over the course of the tournament that weekend. It didn’t take long for UVa to give him an offer. He would attend Hargrave Military Academy to improve his academic and athletic skills. Scott went on to dominate in the Capital Classic in 2007, scoring 25 points and was named to the All-Tournament Team. (Check out some photos of Scott from the Southern Invitational and Capital Classic below; click on any image for a larger version.)

Fast forward to today. Mike Scott has gone from a skinny, late developing basketball player who once just had just a single Division 1A offer to Temple, to becoming arguably the best player in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Great Scott, indeed!